The present device, apparatus, and method relate to the field of adipose tissue treatment and aesthetic body sculpturing.
Liposuction is a technique for removal of fat tissue from different sites in a particular human body. The process changes the external contours of the body and sometimes is described as body sculpturing. The fat is removed by a suction device via a cannula, or a small flexible tube inserted into a body cavity for draining off fluid or introducing medication, inserted into the appropriate site in the body. The process is painful and sometimes causes excessive bleeding.
Recently, liposuction procedures have been improved by the use of infrared laser radiation delivered through a fiber inserted into a cannula and introduced into the treated tissue site. Laser radiation liquefies the adipose tissue. The liquefied tissue is then removed by suction or may be left in the body, where it gradually dissipates. Laser assisted liposuction is considered to be a more advanced and minimally invasive procedure when compared to traditional liposuction techniques.
High temperature developed at the tip of the fiber causes frequent fiber tip carbonization, forcing the treatment provider to remove the fiber, clean the carbonized end or cleave the end and insert it back into the cannula for continued treatment. The cannula with the fiber also has to be removed for liquefied tissue suction performed through the same skin port. The fiber and the cannula have to be sterilized between the different processes and patients. Alternatively, a new sterile fiber and cannula would have to be used. All of the above restrictions have the effect of slowing down the process, increasing the treated subject discomfort and increasing the cost of the treatment.
Thus, there is a need in the art and the related industries for a suitable solution to these and other existing problems.